City Life – Nemat Khana, Delhi & Rampur
A way of life. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] It was a household sight as ordinary as a toaster or a microwave. Usually seen in the bawarchi khana, this wooden cabinet with a steel jaali, or net, was…
City Life – Barricade Trees, Sarojini Nagar
The city greens. [Text and photos by Mayank Austen Soofi] Hundreds of leaves here. All pitch black. After all, they are mere shadows. Shadows of the tree leaves falling on the metal bulwarks, the metal slow-heated by the day’s sun….
City Obituary – Ameer Dehlvi, Haji Hotel
The death of a poet. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] His life was like a love poem. He himself was a poet, and a familiar face (and voice) at the Red Fort’s nighttime poetry mushaira, held every year…
Delhi Winter – Bhola’s New Blanket, Near Sarai Kale Khan
Life in winter. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The chilly 11pm air is burning the bare portions of the skin. A car slows down by the pavement, here near the Ashram crossing. The front window opens. Instantly, the…
Delhi Winter – Fireside Colleagues, Jama Masjid
Life in winter. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The fire will be soon over. No problem, one of the men says. It is still afternoon, and more fires will be set up later in the day. One always…
Delhi Winter – Salma in Freezing Cold, Lodhi Road
Life in winter. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It is a grueling job to survive Delhi’s brief but intense winter. More so, if the citizen doesn’t have a home with walls. More so, if this roofless person happens…
Delhi Winter – Fireside Camaraderie, Mathura Road
Life in winter. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] It’s the rush hour evening. The traffic is flowing nonstop on Mathura Road. Nirmal Kumar Das was walking on the pavement, not far from Salman, who was walking not far…
City Obituary – Abdul Sattar, Pahari Imli
The death of a scholar. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] He had many friends, but the closest had to be the French-style cap, the beret, that would at times be lying plopped up on his head, as if…
City Obituary – Mirza Yaseen Baig, Founder of Midland Bookstores
Passing of an icon. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] Warm, affable, easy-going and with a crackling voice, it was easier to imagine him spending his waking hours beside his grandchildren, or beside chirpy flocks of pigeons. But his…
City Life – Mirza Brothers’ Picnic Memories, Old Delhi & Mehrauli
Their tik tok days. [Text and photo by Mayank Austen Soofi] The yellow line Delhi metro connects historic Old Delhi to historic (and far older) Mehrauli. Long ago, horse-driven tongas routinely rattled between these two distant places. A tradition among…
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